Crawling around in Factory Theatre’s nether regions

Anthony Marshall, who is in the thick of doing energy audits for Creative Trust’s Toronto’s Green Theatres program, had us hanging on the edge of our seats as he told us about his recent visit backstage (and back-backstage) at Factory Theatre.

I think I am not exaggerating in saying that Anthony will never again think that working in “show business” is glamorous.

I personally came into this project fresh off having our 1920’s home energy audited and completing some of the audit’s recommendations. I thought I had this in the bag – companies would just have to replace some HVAC systems and spray insulation in their attics and they’d be set…!

Turns out that while we’ve always said our buildings are full of life – in a way it’s like they really are alive. Spraying insulation into the roof of heritage buildings is sometimes not recommended because as they exist the roof “breathes” (or as one of our building managers joked, hers “hyperventilates.”) Insulating the roof could create condensation which could damage heritage features like plaster ceilings, moldings and medallions over time .

Anthony also told us that Factory and others who use hot water radiators could quickly and easily (and possibly without cost free through an incentive program at Enbridge) install heat reflector panels to stop loss of energy through their uninsulated exterior walls Anthony, who is rapidly becoming an expert on the unique characteristics of heritage buildings, is excited to create an overarching report of common findings and recommendations after he is completed all the audits. We’re hoping this report becomes a resource that other companies can use as a starting point when looking at their own buildings and that it creates some general knowledge in the community around the terms and how to interpret an energy audit. low cost fixes they can do on their own.

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